Government sources confirmed that the increase will be 2% to create a "social fund" and mitigate the effects of the fierce adjustment that will have to face the province of Buenos Aires, one of the most punished by the cuts of the national government to reach zero deficit.
The new Budget includes a tax of 15% for companies that provide online betting services (only in Canon + Gross Income). According to the estimations of the officials of the Ministry of Finance, the rate would leave 2,200 million pesos (US$ 62m) more to the needed coffers of the Province.
Gaming in Argentina is provincialized: each jurisdiction has its own rules. In Buenos Aires, the online betting is not regulated although people can participate and there are even more than 6,000 points of sale to buy cards that allow users to upload virtual credits. But none of that pays taxes in the province. Most of the companies settled in Misiones, the first district of the country to regulate the activity, or directly operate from abroad.
The idea of the Provincial Institute of Lotteries and Casinos of the Province of Buenos Aires is to ensure that companies that offer online gambling have to settle in La Plata to pay tribute to Buenos Aires accounts. In case someone wants to bet from the province, the site will be blocked. "Once they come to invest here, the web will be enabled," said one official.
The first step is to get the Provincial Congress to approve the Budget. Then there will be progress in the tenders to enable seven licenses that will include sports bets, turf, virtual casino and live events (for example, who will win a reality show). Companies from all over the world may be presented, although there will be greater guarantees for those with national capitals.
One of the unknowns is if the Argentine Football Association (AFA) can not claim rights. According to the consulted officials, it will no longer be possible because, when the Law of Prode fell, the market was liberated.
"What we are looking for is to have greater control, we will be able to regulate who plays, how they do it, everything is banked, it will be easy for the gambler to register if he is struggling not to play anymore. If you leave everything as it is, the State does not control, it does not raise and the business continues to grow in an irregular situation, everybody advances with these regulations, we can not keep waiting."
"We are going to carry out transparent bids, there will be minute-by-minute controls and we will look for agreements with other provinces to eradicate the illegal websites," they added.
Source: GMB / Perfil.com
